In the past, pickup trucks have been usually provided with one-piece caps for covering the bed and box. Usually, these caps were bulky and required at least two people to lift them on and off the truck.
Also, most presently used caps for pickup truck boxes are not collapsible and therefore require a sufficient amount of storage space when not in use on the truck. Many of these prior art pickup truck caps require tools for their attachment.
Folding and collapsible caps have been provided in the past but generally they require a large number of components and time consuming assembly procedures. Usually more than one person is required to mount such caps on a truck box, and tools are needed to handle fasteners.
Inherently, when a collapsible or foldable design is considered, weatherproofing joints, or foldable hinges, between the cap components is a concern of the industry so that the cap may be tightly sealed to prevent the intrusion of water and protect cargo carried within the box. Thus, the problem of providing a desirably foldable or collapsible cap is compounded by the necessity for providing weathertight sealing means for the joints and seams of such a structure.